Becoming a team that can stay at the top comes with a price. For most organizations in the NHL, that price is sacrificing the future to win now. This is where the Edmonton Oilers have gotten to as they have now made the playoffs four seasons in a row. Whether it be to acquire the right players in the offseason, trade deadline, or move unneeded pieces out, it has cost the Oilers a number of draft picks that have turned into strong prospects. It may not be worth it in some people’s eyes if Edmonton doesn’t bring home at least one Stanley Cup, but it’s definitely worth it to give the Oilers a shot with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the team. Let’s give the four trades and six prospects a look.
Brock Faber, Aatu Raty – Feb. 24, 2020
While some of the trades have worked out, the same can’t be said about this trade deadline move back in 2020. At the time, the Oilers had a declining Sam Gagner they wanted to move, but Ken Holland also saw an opportunity to acquire a former 30-goal scorer in Andreas Athanasiou. While the Oilers avoided trading any first-round picks they had, it did cost them two second-round picks to dump Gagner and bring in Athanasiou. The 2020 and 2021 second-round picks eventually turned into Brock Faber and Aatu Raty.
Not household names yet, but they have already shown themselves to be skilled prospects, and the 2023-24 season might shine some more light on them. Even though the picks went to the Detroit Red Wings, the 2020 second-round pick ended up with the Los Angeles Kings, only for Faber to be traded to the Minnesota Wild before his NHL debut. The 2021 second-round pick ended up with the New York Islanders, only to deal Raty to the Vancouver Canucks to acquire Bo Horvat.
Faber broke into the NHL at the end of last season for the Wild and got into all six playoff games. With Matt Dumba and John Klingberg gone, he is set to step into a top-four role already, something the Oilers would have loved to have from a young defender (ex. Philip Broberg). Faber is a very strong defender and can put up points at a pretty solid pace. He’s not only aggressive, but he can also get the puck up the ice efficiently. He’s going to be around for a long time in the NHL.
The other prospect in this deal, Raty, got into 15 games last season, 12 for the Islanders and three for the Canucks. It doesn’t look like he’ll be starting this season in the NHL, but he was once a very highly touted prospect before he dropped to the second round in 2021. He’s nothing extremely special, but he is good. He should be an NHLer soon enough and has shown the potential to possibly be a very good player.
Lane Hutson – March 21, 2022
The next trade can be seen as a win-win for the Oilers and Montreal Canadiens. The Oilers sent William Lagesson, their 2022 second-round pick (62nd), and a 2024 seventh-round pick to the Canadiens in exchange for Brett Kulak (50 percent retained) at the trade deadline. Kulak was not only great for the Oilers for the rest of that season, it swayed him into sticking around for four more years on a solid deal. The prize the Canadiens got was Lane Hutson who was taken with that second-round pick.
Despite it being just over a year since being drafted, it is agreed upon that Hutson has rocketed up the rankings and is one of the top prospects league-wide. The teenage defender dominated in the NCAA last season, scoring 15 goals and 48 points in 39 games for Boston University. He also had a very impressive development camp for the Canadiens that opened up even more eyes. He possesses elite offensive talent and is working hard to get better defensively. He is set to be one of the very talented offensive defencemen in the NHL very soon.
Maveric Lamoureux – July 7, 2022
In order to dump Zack Kassian’s bad contract (two more years at $3.2 million average annual value – AAV) and free up space, the Oilers had to give up quite a bit. While they traded a 2025 second-round pick and a 2024 third-round pick, they also traded down from pick 29 to 32. The Arizona Coyotes used the 29th overall pick in 2022 to draft Maveric Lamoureux while the Oilers got Reid Schaefer at 32nd overall.
Related: 3 Oilers Trades That Set Their Goaltending Future
For the third time in such a short time, the Oilers missed out on another young and talented defenceman, this time standing 6-foot-7. Lamoureux had some injury troubles prior to being drafted, but has recovered nicely since. He isn’t the most offensively minded or gifted, but he doesn’t have to be with his size. He and others believe that he is going to be one of the best defenders in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) this season, and that is a strong path to success down the line. Size is definitely valued, especially when other aspects of a player’s game are also strong.
Reid Schaefer, Tanner Molendyk – Feb. 28, 2023
The Oilers might have gotten Schaefer from the previous trade, but just over half a year later, he had to be used to acquire Mattias Ekholm. Of the highest-valued assets in the system, Schaefer was the least far along and wouldn’t help the Oilers out in the NHL in the short term. Along with him, Tyson Barrie, and a 2024 fourth-round pick, they also sent over their first-round pick in 2023 to the Nashville Predators. That pick turned into Tanner Molendyk.
The Oilers drafted Schaefer because he proved he could score in his draft year and combined that with size and physicality. There was solid potential for him to become a middle-six scoring winger who can also lay the body. Once again, a top defenceman was taken out of the Oilers’ arsenal before he was even acquired. Molendyk is another gifted offensive defenceman who is a smooth skater. He was stuck behind some older and more experienced defenders in the Western Hockey League (WHL) last season and was forced to step up the other parts of his game, now being able to effectively shut down opposing top lines. More playing time is expected to come for him and due to his seamless adjustability, has the tools to be a strong two-way defender.
Time will tell just how good these prospects will become, but most of them are already looking very promising. If the Oilers can capitalize with players like Kulak and Ekholm on the roster, the team has achieved their goal and can forget about any potential past mistakes.
